Portable hand-operated cuspidor

ABSTRACT

A portable hand-operated cuspidor having an easily openable hinged lid which it tightly closed in place by means of a spring and cam lever arrangement. Replaceable cups confirming to the general shape of the cuspidor may be used for more easily maintaining the cuspidor in a sanitary condition.

United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,798,682 Harreld Mar. 26, 1974 [54] PORTABLE HAND-OPERATED CUSPIDOR 2,503.045 4/1950 Hamilton 4/267 {76] Inventor: James H. Harreld, Rt. 2, Kalispell, FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 59901 631,840 9/1927 France 4/267 June 7 l()9,924 4/1900 Germany 4/267 13.334 6/19] I Great Britain 4/267 [21 Appl. No.: 260,661

Primary Examiner-Henry K. Artis 52 us. 01 4/271, 4/258 4/267 Firm*watsonv Cole Grindle & 51 1 Int. l. 1. A6lj 19/00 Watson [58] Field of Search v. 4/267, 258, 259, 271, 274,

/285 [57] ABSTRACT A portable hand-operated cuspidor having an easily References openable hinged lid which it tightly closed in place by UNITED STATES PATENTS means of a spring and cam lever arrangement. Re- 735 U43 7/1903 Tobin 4/259 placeable cups confirming t0 the general shape of the 855-296 5/1907 Fishmimn- 4/272 cuspidor may be used for more easily maintaining the 9201180 5/1909 Pfmer 4/274 cuspidor in a sanitary condition. 958 524 5/l9l0 Nler l t 4/272 l,l47,l56 7/1915 Fittall 1 1 v 1 4/272 5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PORTABLE HAND-OPERATED CUSPIDOR Most cuspidors or spittoons in use today are generally of such a design as having an open top portion into which the tobacco chewer may deposit his tobacco refuse, the spittoon bowl being of course emptied through the same open end. Most of such cuspidor bowls are however relatively unstable and have a tendency to easily tip over thereby creating a most unsanitary and untidy condition in and around the cuspidor. A cuspidor capable of being maintained in a more sanitary condition therefore becomes desirable.

The primary object of the present invention is to devise a cuspidor which not only avoids the need for repeated cleaning but is provided with a tight lid over its open end so that even if the cuspidor were inadvertently toppled over, its contents will remain wholly inside the bowl.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a cuspidor wherein the lid may be opened and tightly closed by means of a spring and cam lever arrangement, the lid being biased into a tightly closed position and capable of being opened simply by depressing the lever to rotate a cam mounted on the lid.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a cuspidor wherein the bottom wall of the container thereof is provided with an opening through which a replaceable and/or disposable cup may be manually dislodged thereby avoiding any unnecessary cleaning of the cuspidor during prolonged periods of use.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a prospective view of the cuspidor and cup in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view through the cuspidor in elevation showing the various details thereof;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing a portion of the cuspidor and the manner in which its lid may be opened; and

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the cuspidor of FIG. 1 with its lid closed.

Turning now to the drawings'wherein like reference characters refer to like corresponding parts of the several views, the cuspidor generally designated is shown in FIG. 1 and in more detail in FIG. 2 as comprising a holder 11 in the form of a container or bowl 12 having a base 13 integral therewith for placement of the cuspidor on any horizontal supporting surface. The holder 11 may be of plastic, or any other similar material, made by a plastic molding process in any one of a variety of attractive colors. The container 12 has a downwardly tapering, sidewall 14 and is closed at its lower end by means of a circular bottom wall 15. A cylindrical sidewall portion 16 is made integral with bottom wall and base 13. A number of strengthening webs 18 may be located between walls 13 and 16, as shown in FIG. 2, for stability purposes.

A disposable or replaceable plastic foam rubber cup or the like of generally conical, downwardly tapered configuration, may be easily received within container 12 and be easily dislodged therefrom for the purpose of replacement by means of a central opening 20 in the bottom wall 15 which permits a person's finger 21 to push upwardly against the underside of cup 19. The

cup is shown in FIG. 1 in the process of being inserted within container 12.

A lid 22, of a material similar to that of holder 11, is fitted across the open mouth of the container with the peripheral edge of the lid being stepped as shown so that the lower portion thereof may fit into the mouth of the container and the remainder thereof rest upon the upper edge of sidewall 14, thus securely closing the container.

A cam element 23 is integral with or otherwise connected to lid 22, extends outwardly thereof and is located between a pair of spaced flanges 26 connected to sidewall 14 near the top portion thereof. Cam element 23 has a pin member 24 extending outwardly from both sides thereof so as to be freely slideable within an arcuate slot 25 in each of the flanges 26, as clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. A lever arm 28 is pivotallyconnected to cam element 23 at the outer end thereof as at 27. The lower end of lever arm 28 is pivotally connected as at 29 to a lug 30 formed integrally with base 13. A leaf spring 31 is disposed between lever arm 28 and the outer surface of the sidewall 14 and is retained in position by means of shoulders 32 and 33, formed respectively on lever arm 28 and on the outer surface of sidewall 14.

Plate spring 31 urges lever arm 28 away from sidewall 14 thereby causing pin members 24 on cam element 23 to be positioned substantially at the outer end of each slot 25 thereby causing cam element 23 to rotate about its center of rotation between its ends and therefore maintain the connected lid 22 in a closing position tightly over the mouth of the container 12, as shown in FIG. 2. In order to open lid 22, as shown in FIG. 2, the operator simply pushes against lever arm 28 and moves it toward sidewall 14 of the container whereupon lever arm pivots at 29 and causes cam element 23 to rotate counterclockwise about its center of rotation from a position shown in FIG. 2 to a position shown in FIG. 3. Cam element 23 is simply guided during its rotation by means of pin members 24 moving along slots 25 thereby simply pivoting the lid 22 about this center of rotation in direction of the arrow 34. Upon release of lever arm 28, the lid 22 is returned to its closed position as the cam element is rotated clockwise by means of the lever arm 28 being urged to pivot away from sidewall 14.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that a simple and economical but highly effective cuspidor or spittoon has been devised as having a lid which may be easily opened yet may be tightly closed over the mouth of the container opening thereby avoiding accidental spillage of the cuspidor contents. Moreover, a cup may be easily and quickly replaced by simply pushing through an opening in the bottom wall of the container thereby avoiding the need for periodic cleaning of the cuspidor container.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

l. A portable hand-operated cuspidor comprising a container having an open top end, a support stand at its lower end, a lid tightly covering said top end, and a means for opening and closing said lid, said means comprising a pair of spaced flanges secured to said container, a cam element secured to said lid and extending outwardly thereof between said spaced flanges, a lever arm pivotally connected at one end eccentrically to said cam element and pivotally connected at its other end to said support stand; means for guiding said cam element for rotation about its center of rotation thereby causing said attached lid to be pivotally moved between an open and closed position over said container open end and when said lever arm is manually moved toward said container.

2. The cuspidor according to claim 1 wherein said guide means comprises an arcuate slot in each of said flanges and a pin member on said cam element extending into each of said slots.

3. The cuspidor according to claim 1 wherein said lever arm is biased outwardly away from said container by means of a'spring, said one end of said lever arm being connected eccentrically to said cam element outwardly of its center of rotation thereby serving to tightly close said lid over said container open end.

4. The cuspidor according to claim 3 wherein said spring comprises a plate spring located between said lever arm and said container.

5. The cuspidor according to claim 1 wherein said container top end is larger than said lower end thereof and tapers between said ends, the bottom wall of said container having an opening therein to facilitate pushing upwardly at the bottom wall of a cup located within said container for removal thereof. 

1. A portable hand-operated cuspidor comprising a container having an open top end, a support stand at its lower end, a lid tightly covering said top end, and a means for opening and closing said lid, said means comprising a pair of spaced flanges secured to said container, a cam element secured to said lid and extending outwardly thereof between said spaced flanges, a lever arm pivotally connected at one end eccentrically to said cam element and pivotally connected at its other end to said support stand; means for guiding said cam element for rotation about its center of rotation thereby causing said attached lid to be pivotally moved between an open and closed posiTion over said container open end and when said lever arm is manually moved toward said container.
 2. The cuspidor according to claim 1 wherein said guide means comprises an arcuate slot in each of said flanges and a pin member on said cam element extending into each of said slots.
 3. The cuspidor according to claim 1 wherein said lever arm is biased outwardly away from said container by means of a spring, said one end of said lever arm being connected eccentrically to said cam element outwardly of its center of rotation thereby serving to tightly close said lid over said container open end.
 4. The cuspidor according to claim 3 wherein said spring comprises a plate spring located between said lever arm and said container.
 5. The cuspidor according to claim 1 wherein said container top end is larger than said lower end thereof and tapers between said ends, the bottom wall of said container having an opening therein to facilitate pushing upwardly at the bottom wall of a cup located within said container for removal thereof. 